Apply

13 Feb Mentor Feature: Vittoria is an Agent of Change

Hailing from Italy, Vittoria’s sights have always been set beyond the borders of her hometown. She’s been attracted to talking with people from different cultures and lifestyles since she was young, and she’s made dramatic achievements since her early childhood days pretending to speak English with foreigners. Apart from living in Italy, England, Holland, Singapore, and Thailand, she recently raised $100,000 through her work with Women on a Mission by being part of the first group of women to trek across the Lut Desert. The organization provides support to charitable endeavors that provide services and raise awareness for women whose livelihoods have been affected by war, conflict, and abuse (click here for Women on a Mission’s website).

While Vittoria doesn’t shy from change, she is fully aware of its challenges. Moving from city to city has meant recreating and sometimes redefining her life, her world, and her perception. Recent events in the international political sphere have only further contested with how she thought the world operates. In response, she’s made a career out of helping people with life changes.

“It’s really exciting to connect with someone out of the blue – somewhere far away and being able to make an impact.”

Transition coaching is Vittoria’s way of “helping people find the best means to implement the way you want to show up in life,” and for the past 10 months as a Wedu mentor, her expertise has been invaluable to her Rising Star, Alinery.

“She’s quite a tough cookie.”

Despite an internal conflict between cultural expectations and Alinery’s personal ambitions and dreams, Alinery’s dedication to her future continues to inspire Vittoria. She describes her Rising Star as brave with an explosive character who knows how to ask for what she wants. While Alinery endeavors towards working at an international NGO or going into politics, Vittoria provides moral support in addition to life coaching. They were fortunate enough to meet in person in Bangkok when Alinery came to attend Youth Development Training hosted by the United Nations.

“As soon as we saw each other, it was if we already met before. It was a nice confirmation that the relationship we developed online through mentoring wasn’t very different from being in the same place.”

We’re so happy for Vittoria’s and Alinery’s fruitful mentorship, and we hope for their continued success and bravery as they challenge themselves and the world around them.